Have you heard about Google Latitude? I discovered Google Latitude during the past week when our family had to travel from Houston to El Paso in different cars. My daughter and I both have a droid and so we thought we’d give it a try. Google Latitude, found at http://www.google.com/latitude, allowed us to know where the other one was along the way. It gave real-time mapping of our progress.
To use Google Latitude, you’ll use Google Maps with your computer and/or one of the following:
- Android-powered devices
- iPhone and iPod touch devices
- most color BlackBerry devices
- most Windows Mobile 5.0+ devices
- most Symbian S60 devices (Nokia smartphones)
As I was doing this, I couldn’t help but think what an amazing safety feature this was. If there was an accident, Latitude would not only tell us where the other one was but would give us turn-by-turn directions to the location from where we were. And, parents could know exactly where their children are which is an excellent safety feature.
Watch this short video to learn more! I don’t think I’d keep it on all the time but I will use it again if the circumstances arise like they did for us this last week.
Carol Mortensen has nearly twenty-three years of educational experience. She began as a substitute teacher as she worked toward her degree. Upon graduation, Carol began teaching middle school Math and Algebra I and served as the technology liaison for her campus. She served as a teacher for 16 years and was lucky to have taught at Hillcrest Middle School, a 1:1 campus where every student was issued a laptop computer. She also worked as an Instructional Technology Trainer for her district providing training and technology integration support for campus and district staff, faculty and administrators. Currently, Carol enjoys her position as the Campus Technology Integration Specialist for Deer Park High School – South Campus. Before taking this position this year, she served for three years as the Campus Technology Integration Specialist at Fairmont Junior High in Deer Park Independent School District. In this position, Carol provides integration support and training to the students, staff, faculty, and administrators at the campus and district level. In addition, Carol is an online Math instructor for Aventa Learning and K12. The Texas Computer Education Association (TCEA) named Carol the Classroom Teacher of the Year for her innovative and creative use of technology to create a 24/7 virtual classroom using her classroom website. Carol has presented at school districts throughout Texas as well as state and local conferences on a variety of technology integration topics. Her article on the use of websites as an instructional tool was recently published in the TechEdge Magazine. In February 2011, her article, Lessons Learning In a 1:1 Classroom, was published by TechEdge. The article was republished in ISTE’s Learning and Leading magazine in August 2011. She was named Fairmont Junior High’s Teacher of the Year for the 2011-2012 school year. Carol is passionate about the positive impact that technology has on student achievement. Her presentations are packed with real-life solutions, quality resources, and humor. She has an ability to connect with her audience and motivate them to take technology integration to a higher quality level.
